Loading beam



Nov. 16, 1943. I H. LAT'HROP LOADING BEAM v Filed Aug. 7, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nav. 16, 1943.

Filed Aug. 7, 1942 A. H. LATH ROP LOADING BEAM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jmfuzmr Patented n... s, 1943 Albert II. Lathrop, Asheville, N. 0., aaalmr to American Erika Corporation, Enka, N. 0., a

. corporation of Delaware l Application August '1, 1942, Serial No. 454,035

2 Claims.

This application is a 'continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 441,207, filed April 30,

1942, and relatesto the loading and transporta tion of yarn beams and the likei More particularly, the invention concernsan' apparatus and a method for loading a large number of heavy spools or beams of yarn in a vehicle in such a way as to avoid shifting of theload in transit.

- The invention is especially applicable to the loading and transportation of the typeof heavy beams upon which rayon brother yarns are wound for shipment to manufacturers to be used, for example, for re-inforcing material in the manufacture of pneumatictires and the like, and

it is extremely important that the beams be loaded and maintained immobile during movement of the vehicle to thereby prevent damage to the yarn. These beams are suitable-for transportingany type of yarn, but are particularly adapted for yarn of synthetic origin because of its delicate nature. Regardless of the denieryarn' to-betransported, relatively heavypackages are wound on each beam, the empty beams weighing several body as to become a part thereof.

and bulk of the loaded beams, in order to insure maximum protection for the yarn wound upon the beams, under the severe stresses met with, particularly in rail transportation, the tiers of beams should be bound together into a compact unit and the whole so anchored to the vehicle Therefore, an object of my invention is the provision of a method and means for loading heavy yarn beams in a vehicle in such a way that the load may be subjected to severe shocks in transit without incurring shifting of the load and consequent injury to the yarn.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a single and efllcient mechanism for loading heavy yarn beams in a vehicle in tiers without to .prevent injury to the yarnduring transportation.

In the transportation of heavy yarn beams in a vehicle it is generally regarded as desirable, from the point of view of shipping economy, to load as many beams into the vehicleas may be consistent with safe transit. Due to the great weight and bulk of the loaded beams and the danger of shifting of the load with consequent injury to the yarn, the stacking of beamsin superimposed tiers has been regarded as impractical, particularly in transportation by, rail :where severe shocks are frequently encounteredin transit. Therefore, it has been customary to load beams in a single row, strongly braced, toinsure safe delivery of the yarn. On the other hand, transportation of heavy yarn beams'insup'erimposed tiers by motor truck has been proposed, and-has been partially successful due to the fact that the load is subjectedto only mlnonstresses in transit. 'One.

such proposal is described'in U.- 8. Patent No. 2,144,600 to Koonce, Howeven Koonce does not provide means for-preventing vertical shifting of the load or' its components, nor are the chocks dangerof shifting of the load in transit. A further object is the provision of a mechanism for loading heavy yarn beams in tiers as a single unit for transportation.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 11s a sectional elevation of a portion of.

a vehicle, for, example, a railroad freight car, showing a number of yarn beams loaded according to the present invention,

Figure 2 is a section taken- Figure 1,

' Figure 31s a diagrammatic elevation, in

on I line -22- of cording to the present invention,

Figure 4 is a detailed view of theshoe utilized in loading the second tier of beams, Figure 5 shows a yam beam in elevation and means for connecting the shoes,' and Figure 6 is a section taken along the line 0-8 of Figure 4.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a freight car having a floor 2, side walls 3 and end walls 4. Aflixed to the floor n11 the car and extending longitudinally thereof are T-shaped tracks 5, provided with vertically upstanding flanges 6 adapted to guide the yarn beams I as they are loaded, and prevent lateral shifting after the beams'have been mounted in position.

against the end beams suillcient to preventlon- I gitudinal shifting underthe stress normally encountered in rail transportation. Furthermore, each row of beams istreated as a separate entity, the upperrow being maintained in contact with the lower row by its. weight alone, and being therefore capable of independent displacement with respect thereto. i a

I have now found that due to the great weight Yarn beams l are of the usual type employed for transporting rayon and the like, and are provided with heads 8 and a shaft 0 which projects beyond the beam at each end. The beams placed on tracks 5 are'connected by spacer bars l0 (see Figure 1') having openings boredin each end to receive the shafts 9 of adjacent yam beams, said beams being similarly connected at opposite ends thereof. Between each pair of beams, vertical flanges 8 -are provided withv openings for the I reception of bolts Ii, screw-threaded at theends to receive nuts I2. Tie bars 13 and it are connected at one end to the shaftsoi. adjacent par- 7 tial section, of an entire freight car loaded acspacer bars are interchangeable and the tie bars are interchangeable, at will. 4

If desired, of course, instead of individual spacer bars it, a single bar may be employed to connect an entire row of beams, said bar being provided with openings at spaced points to accommodate the beam shafts. It will likewise be readily understood that a number of tie bars l3 and it may be eliminated without seriously impairing the emciency of the invention. For example, where the single spacer bar is utilized, all but two tie bars may be eliminated on each side of a row of beams, one tie bar being placed at each end of the row.

When loading the second tier, shoes 55 are mounted between adjacent beams of the first tier and the beams of the second tier are placed in the shoes by means of a suitable hoisting mechanism. Shoe i5 is a-triangularly shaped member preferably made of metal, the sides l5, ii, and Id, of which are curved to conform to the shape of the spool head 8. Placed between pairs of :beams in the bottom row, the sides H and I8 rest against the rims of adjacent beam heads. The rims of beams in the second tier are then cradled in side it and the shoes on opposite ends of each beam are connected and held in position by a rod it passed through openings 2b and screw-threaded at each end to receive nuts 2!. The beam contacting faces of shoe it are provided with flanges 22 and 23 adapted to conform to the contour of the beam head 3 and prevent lateral shifting thereof with respect to the shoe.

Inasmuch as each beam in the second tier is placed between each pair of beams in the lower tier and rests thereupon, it is obvious that the latter pair of beams must be previously connected by spacer bars. Upon placement of the upper beam, the shaft 3 thereof is connected by tie bars 25 and 25 to the shafts of the adjacent beams in the lower tier, the three beams forming a triangle connected by a triangular brace consisting of spacer bar i6 and tie bars 24! and 25, the unit being anchored to the vehicle by 1 means of tie bars 53 and id. If possible, the

length of spacer bars it is so chosen that the heads of adjacent beams are slightly spaced, for example, about an inch, so that the angle formed by spacer bar it] and connected tie bars 24 and 25 describes an approximately equilateral triangle. Thus spacer bar it! and tie bars 24 and 25 are then interchangeable at will. If desired, of course, the shafts of the upper tier of beams may be connected by spacer bars, and if a single spacer bar having openings at spaced points to accommodate the beam shafts is utilized, a number of tie bars 2d and 25 may be eliminated. In such case, for example, only one pair of tie bars 24 and 25 need be employed at each end of the row of beams.

Any suitable procedure for loading the second tier of beams may be adopted. However, since each beam of the second tier is placed between two beams in the lower tier, the two beams in Having now described my invention in its preferred embodiment it should be understood that alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof. Therefore, the invention should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Apparatus for loading a pluralityof heavy yarn beams provided with projecting shafts, in at least two tiers in a vehicle, comprising a track having upstanding flanges to guide and prevent lateral displacement of the first tier of beams, rigid, unitary spacer bars of equal length connecting the said shafts of adjacent beams on each end thereof to prevent longitudinalmovement of each beam with respect to each other and maintain each beam in fixed equi-spaced alignment, rigid unitary tie bars of equal length connecting each end of the shaft of each beam to the track at two points, except the shafts of the terminal beams which are connected to the track at only one point whereby lateral, longitudinal and vertical movement of the first tier of beams with respect to the vehicle is prevented, supporting means for each beam of the second tier carried by adjacent pairs of beams of the first tier, and a rigid connection between the shaft of each beam of the second tier and the shafts of the beams of the first tier whereby the entire load is rendered immobile during transit.

2. Apparatus for loading a plurality of heavy yarn beams provided with projecting shafts, in at least two tiers in a vehicle, comprising a track having upstanding flanges to guide and prevent lateral displacement of the first tier of beams, rigid, unitary spacer bars of equal length connecting the said shafts of adjacent beams on each end thereof to prevent longitudinal movement of each beam with respect to each other and maintain each beam in fixed equi-spaced alignment, rigid unitary tie bars of equal length connecting each end of the shaft of each beam to the track at two points, except the shafts of the terminal beams which are connected to the track .at only one point whereby lateral, longitudinal and vertical movement of the first tier of beams with respect to the vehicle is prevented, supporting means for each beam of the second tier carried by adjacent pairs of beams of the first tier, and rigid unitary tie bars of the same length as the spacer bars connecting the shaft of each beam of the second tier to the shafts of its two supporting beams of the first tier whereby the entire load is rendered immobile during transit.

ALBERT H. LA'I'HROP. 

